Agricultural combines are large machines that harvest, thresh, separate and clean agricultural crops that bear grain. The clean grain obtained is stored in a grain tank arranged on the combine. The threshed straw is generally either chopped and spread out on the field across the width of the chopping mechanism, or diverted around the straw chopper and deposited unchopped in a swath in order to be subsequently taken up in a baler. The remaining crop residue at the rear outlet of the cleaning device, such as chaff and small pieces of straw, is distributed on the field by a chaff scattering device, or directed through the straw chopper and spread on the field.
DE 199 08 111 C1 describes a combine with a straw chopper and two distribution blowers following the straw chopper, arranged one alongside the other, for strewing the straw widely across the field. For the purpose of a material transfer that does not change direction, the outlet of the straw chopper and the inlet of the distribution blowers, which are arranged in a housing and have paddles rotating about a roughly vertical axis, are arranged in a single plane. Partial casings that join one another between the distribution blowers in a tip pointing toward the straw chopper are arranged around the distribution blowers. In the rear area, the partial casings transition into shields with openings, in order to emit the straw onto the field through the openings. The shields are rotatable or height-adjustable to adjust the distribution width.
No operating mode is provided in DE 199 08 111 C1 in which only the chaff is led through the straw chopper, while the straw is deposited in the swath on the ground, as is described, for example, in DE 10 2008 001 460 A1. Accordingly, the adjustment range of DE 199 08 111 C1 does not comprise a position in which the crop residue is deposited only to the side, but not exactly toward the back. In the swath-laying mode, however, it is desirable in many cases to emit the chaff to the side some distance away from the straw in order to be able to gather and further use the latter without chaff content.